Facebook scraps test asking users to sign up with Aadhaar names

World’s largest social networking site Facebook has scrapped a new test feature in which it asked people to use the name they had provided on their Aadhaar card when signing up for its service, after users began questioning the company’s intent behind the move.

In a statement on Thursday, Facebook clarified that it was not collecting Aadhaar data but only trying to get users to open accounts using their actual names. It said it asked users to do so in order for their family and friends to be able to identify them more easily.

“We are not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook. The goal of this test was to help new users understand how to sign up to Facebook with their real name and connect with their friends and family,” the company’s statement read.

Social networks have been abuzz after users found the message, which Facebook was sharing on its signup page. Users proposed theories that along with Aadhaar names and an already existing base of phone numbers, Facebook could boost its targeting of users for ads, especially political ads.

Facebook said that it had no integration with Aadhaar and did not require users to authenticate themselves with the unique identity authority for using its service. The company said it merely altered the language of its communication to see if more people would sign up for its service using their actual names.

Unlike many other social networks, Facebook requires users to enter their full names which are displayed to the public on its platform. While several privacy experts have pointed out that this isn’t the safest of policies on the Internet and could promote stalking and other crimes, Facebook continues to retain the policy.

However, despite this requirement, Facebook has no mechanism to verify if an user is using their actual name to create an account. This is how people can still create fake and pseudo accounts on the social network. The communication asking users to utilise their Aadhaar names was a test to see if more users begin using their real names to sign up.

Facebook has termed the entire ordeal as a test, which it has now completed as it hit the number of users it had intended to get. The company said any other interpretation of Facebook seeking people’s Aadhaar information for signing up for its service was wrong.

“The test ran with a small number of users in India and has now finished. As with all tests, we may learn new things that help us provide a better sign-up experience for people joining Facebook, but we currently have no plans to roll this test out further,” the company added.